If you have issues viewing or accessing this file contact us at NCJRS.gov. Report to the 7 ~st Legislature Governor William P. Clements, Jr. Criminal Justice Division Rider Scott, Executive Director e!l,StU (\It f\ Illllllliiila.llllllliiliiiiirliiiiiiiiiliii__ II!IIIIIIiiIIra _____~IIIIIIIIIIIIiIi ___~ ________...... ~ ..... ;.~ j...J-7 D /20373 ~~=====================================~ Report to the 7Ist Legislature Governor William P. Clements, Jr. 120373 u.s. Department of Justice National Institute of Justice This document has been reproduced exactly as received from Ihe person or organizalion originating it. Points of view or opinions stated in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the National Institute of Justice. Permission to reproduce this copyrighted material has been granted by ~exas Office of the Governor Criminal Justice Division to the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS). Further reproduction outside of the NCJRS system requires permIs­ sion of the copyright owner. Rider Scott Executive Director Crin1inal Justice Division May 1989 Message from the Governor The value of the services provided to the people of our state by the Criminal Justice Division cannot be overstated. The grants and technical assistance offered by the Criminal Justice Division ensure that all of our law enforcement, prosecution and corrections agencies benefit from effective and innovative techniques and strategies. A special emphasis is placed 011 projects that improve the coordination of activities between criminal justice agencies. I firmly believe that working together we can win the battle against crime. Hardly a criminal act takes place without some relationship to drug abuse. That is why comprehensive drug interdiction and education programs administered by the CriminalJustice Division, such as the Texas Narcotics Control Program and Texans' War on Drugs, are so vitally important. If we want to get serious about fighting crime and reducing prison overcrowding, we must get serious about reducing drug abuse. This report gives you an overview of the work performed by the CriminalJustice Division during the past two years. State and federal criminal justice grants have provided critical assistance to Texas communities from the Panhandle to the Rio Grande Valley. EvelY citizen in the state has been affected by the improvements in criminal justice services provided by the division. Our top priority is to protect the lives and propelty of the people of this state. We must address the corrections management issues that aggravate the crime problem and return a fear of consequences to those who break the law. We must continue to support the innovative and cost-effective approaches to combating crime developed through the programs of the Criminal Justice Division. We must take the steps necessmy to lay a sound foundation for a criminal justice system that will cany Texas into the future. With your help, together we can make significant progress toward ensuring the continued safety and well-being of our fellow Texans. Williatn P. Clements,,]r. Governor of the State of Texas Table of Contents I. OVERVIEW OF ACTIVITIES ............................................................................. Pgs. 1-9 A. A New Direction • Introduction to the Criminal Justice Division • The Restructured Grant Application Process • The Importance of Serving as a Resource B. New Programs Developed • Emphasis on Interagency Cooperation • The Texas Narcotics Control Program • Multi-Agency Crime Suppression Projects • Research and Program Evaluation C. Technical Assistance Provided • Prison and Jail Population Dynamics • Analysis of Crime in Texas • Illustrative Graphs II. HISTORY AND MISSION .................................................................................. Pgs. 10-13 A. The Beginning of the Criminal Justice Division B. The "Seed Money" Concept C. Description of Funding Sources • State Criminal Justice Planning Fund • FederalJuvenileJustice and Delinquency Prevention Act • Federal Justice Assistance Act e Federal Victims of Crime Act • Federal Anti-Drug Abuse Act .. State Crime Stoppers Assistance Fund III. THE PROGRAMS ............................................................................................... Pgs. 14-18 A. Strategies to Fight Crime • Crime Prevention, Community Relations and Citizen Involvement " Victim Assistance Program • Child Abuse Prevention and Intervention • Law Enforcement Training and Education • Organized Crime Control Units e Special Law Enforcement Units and Programs .. Alternative Programs for Juveniles • Juvenile Officer Projects • Purchase of Juvenile Services • State Agency Juvenile Services .. Juvenile Corrections Programs for Serious and Repeat Offenders • Replication of Model Juvenile Justice Programs • Prosecution and Criminal Defense Training and Support Services • Prosecution • Judiciary • Training, Education and Development of Correctional and Related Personnel .. Community-Based Alternative Programs ct Correctional Detention Programs .. State Agency Correctional Programs • Information Systems 11 Regional Coordination of Criminal Justice Programs B. Programs by Funding Source Eligibility ................................................... IV. T\X1ELVE EXEMPLARY PROJECTS .................................................................... Pgs. 19-31 A. Criteria for Selecting Projects B. Project Descriptions • Tarrant County Narcotics and Intelligence Coordination Unit • Alamo Area Narcotics Trafficking Task Force • Crime Stoppers of Houston, Inc. • City of San Angelo Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) • City of Victoria Community Crime Prevention Commission • South Plains Association of Governments Regional Crime Prevention • Austin Police Department Victim Services • Midland County Career Offender Prosecution Unit • Galveston Police Department Child Abuse Investigation Unit .. Mexia Police Department Information System • Dallas County Juvenile Department Restitution and Employment Program • Texans' War on Drugs ........................................................................ .. V. FINANCIAL STATISTICS ................................................................................... Pgs. 32-47 A. SummalY of CriminalJustice Planning Fund Activity • Special Fees Collected by Source ...................................................... .. • Total Collections Comparison, FY 198'5 to FY 1988 • Total Collections by Month, FY 1987 and FY 1988 B. Funding Source Schedules by Region and Program Area APPENDIX Grants by Program Area for 1987 and 1988 Fiscal Years 1 I. OVERVIEW OF ACTIVITIES A. A New Direction Introduction to the Criminai]ustice Division The state CriminalJustice Planning Fund is administered by the CriminalJustice Division (CJD) of the Governor's Office. CJD has as its revenue source a small portion of the fines for court costs assessed in misdemeanor and felony cases. Federal grant money administered by the division includes funds allocated by the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, the Justice Assistance Act, the Victims of Crime Act, and the Anti-Drug Abuse Act. The state and federal grants administered by CJD totaled $38 million for fiscal year 1988. Improving the efficiency and fairness of the criminal justice system in Texas is the purpose of the initiative funding awarded by Governor Bill Clements. The money is not used to subsidize basic criminal justice services. Grants are designed to provide seed money to develop more efficient and productive approaches to using our criminal justice resources. The local agencies are expected to absorb the cost of the project if the approach funded by the grant is proven successful. Most of the state funds for local projects are on a five-year assumption-of-costs cycle. Local projects generally receive 100 percent funding during the first year !)f operation, with grant assistance decreasing at the annual rate of 20 percent over the next four years. Federal grant funds are allocated according to the rules mandated by Congress. The regional council or association of governments in each of the 24 state planning regions is responsible for the coordination of the diverse CJD programs. Local units of government, state agencies, and nonprofit organizations with a statewide impact are eligible grant applicants, according to the type of funding. The Restructured Grant Application Process Every year, the division develops a broad-based criminal justice plan for Texas that outlines the types of programs to be funded during the next fiscal year. Under Governor Clements' direction, the flow of information in the grant application process has been significantly improved. The plan has been streamlined to cut production costs, and each applicant receives only the minimal forms necessary. While drawing on the quality and experience of past years' plans, the new plan structure is much more efficient because it calls for the distribution of only the materials that are necessalY to each party in the process. The amount of data an applicant has to review in order to apply is thereby reduced while additional technical information is still readily available. The material contained in previous plans is now separated into three separate compo­ nents af follows: • Goals (mel Strategies summarizes the crime trends in the state and formulates a public policy response. The document states Governor Clements' goals and priorities for 1989 and contains an inventory of strategic